Women’s Tennis: No. 7 Virginia downs No. 18 UCF, 5-2

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 7 Virginia women’s tennis (6-0) defeated No. 18 UCF (2-2) by a score of 5-2 on Friday at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

The Cavaliers won the doubles point and took the first three singles matches in straight sets to secure the victory.

The Cavaliers and Knights split decisions on doubles courts one and three. Senior Sofia Munera and sophomore Hibah Shaikh secured the point with a 6-4 win on court two.

In singles, freshman Elaine Chervinksy topped No. 64 Valeriya Zeleya 6-2, 6-1 to put the Cavaliers ahead 2-0. Sara Ziodato followed with a win on court three with Shaikh clinching the victory on court six. UCF picked up their first point on court three when Sofia Munera retired late in the third set. With the match decided, both courts two and four played third-set super tiebreakers instead of full sets, both of which were battles. Marie Matel of UCF won hers 13-11 against Amber O’Dell while Natasha Subhash topped No. 37 Evgeniya Levashova 12-10 for the 5-2 final.

Match notes

• Elaine Chervinsky is 2-0 while playing at No. 1 with both victories coming in straight sets
• This is the second victory for the Cavaliers over a ranked opponent this season
• The Cavaliers were without Emma Navarro in the lineup as she is playing in a World Tennis Tour 60K tournament this week in Rome, Ga.
• This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams
• This is the final tune-up for the Cavaliers before they head to ITA Indoors

Next up

• The Cavaliers will be one of 16 teams competing at the 35^th Annual ITA National Team Indoor Championships, being held Feb. 11-14 at the Nielsen Tennis Center in Madison, Wisc.
• Seeds and schedule will be announced next week

#7 Virginia 5, #18 UCF 2

Singles competition

1. #90 Elaine Chervinsky (VA) def. #64 Valeriya Zeleva (UCF) 6-2, 6-1
2. #29 Natasha Subhash (VA) def. #37 Evgeniya Levashova (UCF) 6-3, 7-6 (6-8), 12-10
3. Noel Saidenova (UCF) def. Sofia Munera (VA) 6-4, 4-6, 4-3, retired
4. #102 Marie Mattel (UCF) def. Amber O’Dell (VA) 2-6, 7-5, 13-11
5. Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Sophia Biolay (UCF) 6-3, 6-3
6. Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Nandini Sharma (UCF) 7-5, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. Elaine Chervinsky/Natasha Subhash (VA) def. #50 Valeriya Zeleva/Evgeniya Levashova (UCF) 6-2
2. Sofia Munera/Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Marie Mattel/Nadja Bay Christians (UCF) 6-4
3. Noel Saidenova/Nandini Sharma (UCF) def. Amber O’Dell/Sara Ziodato (VA) 6-3

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,5,6,3,4)

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